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1100 R Korčula, Samostan Anđela čuvara, Put sv. Nikole 31, Foto Berner 6168 sent 23.XI.1930. Dorica Janku Burgstalleru TDor 19301123c
Samostan Anđela čuvara u Korčuli zaživio je 1905. godine kao kuća matica nove Kongregacije koju je podigao iz postojećih zajednica u Šibeniku i Splitu hrvatski dominikanac o. Anđeo Marija Miškov. Samostan je odmah postao kuća novicijata. Godine 1906. otvoren je dječji vrtić. Privatna ženska građanska škola odobrena je 1910. godine, a pravo javnosti dobila je 1921.Godine 1915. otvorena je ženska pučka škola s pravom javnosti. Sestre su odgojile naraštaje djevojaka u kršćanskom i hrvatskom duhu. Tijekom II. svjetskog rata samostan je bio razrušen, a sestre su proživjele teške dane i godine. U vrijeme komunizma zabranjen je svaki javni odgojni rad. Sestre su od samih početaka na Korčuli skrbile za stare i nemoćne u staračkom domu Zaklonište. Otvorile su prvi laboratorij u gradu i počele sa zdravstvenom skrbi. Nakon ublažavanja političkih prilika 70 – ih godina prošlog stoljeća sestre su ponovno otvorile odgojno obrazovnu ustanovu dječjeg vrtića, a nakon otvaranja Doma zdravlja u Korčuli bile su većinski dio radnog osoblja. I danas je samostan Anđela čuvara kuća matica Kongregacije i kuća novicijata. Nakon demokratskih promjena sestre se stručno osposobljavaju za rad u predškolskom odgoju i danas uspješno rade s djecom u vlastitom, suvremeno opremljenom vrtiću koji svojim radom obuhvaća sve dobne skupine djece. Daju satove iz stranih jezika, glazbe i matematike. Prisutne su u školskom vjeronauku i župnoj katehezi u Korčuli i okolnim župama. Geslo “BOGU, REDU, NARODU” pod kojim je o. A. M. Miškov postavio na noge Kongregaciju, sestre nastoje ostvarivati i danas.
The news was that Jools' cough was little better. She got a mail back from the surgery on Friday saying her (non-urgent) appointment with the doctor was on December 14th. But as we were going to Tesco, she would have a chat with the pharmasist and see about some of the behind the counter stuff.
Winter has arrived, though no snow as yet, but the wind is set in the east, its cloudy and feels raw outside.
I would spend part of the day churchcrawling.
After shopping.
We go to Tesco, Jools really only coming so she could get something for her cough.
With a few bottles of tripel and cider we managed to spend £140. A bag of rice, not white easy cook rice I'll admit, but that's £4.50 now.
Wow.
Back home with the shopping and a bottle of serious cough syrup, we put the shopping away and have breakfast.
No surprise then that Jools wasn't coming out with me, she wanted to get the cough under control, would only take the new syrup when needed as it can make you drowsy.
I had a list of churches, and first up was our local one, St Margaret.
They were having a craft day. I thought it might be a fayre, but was a kid's craft day. Anyway, the church would be open and I could take shots of the memorials and windows.
There were pagan heads at the top of each column, and as corbel stones. The more I looked, the more pagan heads, even at the top of two of the columns, but not all.
No real ancient glass, but good quality Victorian.
The church itself is the triumph, being an early Norman and well preserved.
Although, sadly, the tower is in poor repair and needs reroofing, which is why it is currently encased in scaffolding.
I am sure when we called in at Barham last week, a sign said there was a craft fayre on, so would be open. I would go back, and get some shots, I thought.
Its a half hour drive, if that out of Dover down the A2 and off at the Wingham turning, down the valley and parking outside the church, its spire pointing to heaven.
Inside the church there was no fayre again, just a warden showing a lady round. We all said "hello", and I went about getting shots.
I have been here at least three times, but now take the big lens to get details of the windows and memorials high up, so there are always new details to reveal.
Star item is the window of St George and the dragon, though is hidden in the north-west corner, and best viewed from the stairs to the belltower.
After 20 minutes, the visitor left and the warden turned off the lights, forgetting I was there, but I had my shots.
From Barham its a short drive to Bridge, then along the Nailbourne to Patrixbourne, where I see the door was open, but I had another target: Bekesbourne, the next village along, crossing the dry bed of the bourne, stopping on the lane outside the church. I look left to the Old Palace, but there were no cars parked there, so no point of even knocking, I drove on.
Instead of turning left back to Bridge, I turn right towards Littlebourne, no real idea where I was going.
Littlebourne could wait for another time, I only went back there in 2020, I went to Wingham, driving on towards Sandwich.
I thought, it's a long time since I was at Woodnesborough, I could cut through Ash and go there.
Which is what I did.
I could have stopped at Ash too, that's usually open, but there'll be other times. I have been there twice and got good shots last time for sure.
From Ash, the road climbs, leading to Woodnesborough, Woden's Hill, where there was a hill fort in antiquity. The church is on the highest point, overlooking the marshes of the old Wantsum Channel, and on to Sandwich which when the Channel was still flooded, was on a spit of land.
The church is a marker for miles around due to its cupola, something is shares with Ringwould near to home.
Inside it was so dark, I thought I would need to find the lights, but I could not find them. So, I hoped the camera would cope without.
It did.
But again, I was here really to record the windows, which were rich in detail. I took 215 shots here, 560 in a morning at three churches.
Not bad.
But I was done, what light there was, was fading, even though it was only just after one. I would go home.
Once home I got busy.
I have a taste for beans. Not baked beans, but Boston Beans. I had a recipe, and we got the ingredients that morning, so went about making a huge panful. Three tins of haricot beans, tomatoes, stock, spices, bacon, pork belly, mustard, and black treacle.
Cooked on the hob for an hour, then cooked long and low in the oven for four hours.
What came out looked and tasted like fine Boston Beans. We will be eating these for weeks.
At the same time I make fritters.
The plan was to be all cooked and eaten before the football began at three.
I did it with half an hour to spare, the leftover wine drunk too, meaning I would struggle to stay awake for Holland v USA game. Netherlands win pretty comfortably.
And in the evening, with a soundtrack of funk and soul thanks to Craig, I watch Argentine v Australia, which was a stunning game.
Even better, I sat on the sofa to watch, Cleo eyed me as if to say how dare you take my chosen sleeping place. But she came over, paced around, then lay between the arm of the sofa and my leg. Scully lay on the other side. I had 50% of the household cats.
Happier than I have been for ages.
Best of all was that the syrup worked, stopped the coughing, and Jools fell asleep right off.
------------------------------------------------
A morning out, revisiting some familiar fairly local churches.
Final visit was to Woodnesborough, aka Woden's Hill, near to Sandwich.
It was open, but no light switch that could be found meant that the church was dark, but the camera coped well.
Woodnesborough sits on the highest point near to the coast, its cupola marking the spot, and visible for miles in all directions.
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The tower makes this church one of the easiest in Kent to identify. It is capped by a little cupola and wooden balustrade of eighteenth-century date that replaced a medieval spire. During the Middle Ages the church was owned by Leeds Priory which invested heavily in the structure, and was no doubt responsible for the excellent sedilia built in about 1350. The canopy is supported by a quadripartite vault in turn supported by angry little heads. Above the sedilia is the cut-off end of a prickett beam. The east window, of Decorated style stonework, has a thirteenth-century hangover in the form of a shafted rere-arch. There are two excellent modern stained glass windows designed by F.W Cole, which show the Creation (1980) and St Francis (1992). The good altar rails are of Queen Anne's reign, as are the splendid Royal Arms.
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Woodnesborough
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WOODNESBOROUGH,
¶OR Winsborough, as it is usually called, lies the next parish northward from Eastry, being written in the survey of Domesday, Wanesberge. It took its name according to Verstegan, from the Saxon idol Woden, (and it is spelt by some Wodensborough) whose place of worship was in it; however that may be, the termination of the word berge, or borough, shews it to be of high antiquity.
art of this parish, over which the manor of Boxley claims, is within the jurisdiction of the justices of the town and port of Sandwich, and liberty of the cinque ports; and the residue is in the hundred of Eastry, and jurisdiction of the county of Kent.
There are three boroughs in this parish, viz. Cold Friday, Hamwold, and Marshborough; the borsholders of which are chosen at the petty sessions of the justices, acting at Wingham, for the east division of the lath of St. Augustine.
THIS PARISH is large, being two miles and an half one way, and upwards of a mile and an half the other. The church stands nearly in the centre of it, on high ground. At a small distance from the church is Woodnesborough hill, both of which are sea marks. This hill is a very high mount, seemingly thrown up by art, and consisting of a sandy earth, it has been thought by some to have been the place on which the idol Woden from whom this place is supposed to have taken its name) was worshipped in the time of the Saxons; by others to be the burial place of Vortimer, the Saxon king, who died in 457, whilst others suppose this mount was raised over those who fell in the battle fought between Ceoldred, king of Mercia, and Ina, king of the West Saxons, in the year 715, at Woodnesbeorb, according to the Saxon chronicle, which name Dr. Plot supposes to be Woodnesborough. Vortimer, as our historians tell us, at his death, desired to be buried near the place where the Saxons used to land, being persuaded that his bones would deter them from any attempt in future. Though authors differ much on the place of his burial, yet this mount at Woodnesborough is as probable, or more so, perhaps, than any other, for it was near to, and was cast up so high as to be plainly seen from the Portus Rutupinus, which at that time was the general landing place of the Saxon fleets. Some years ago there were found upon the top of it sundry sepulchral remains, viz. a glass vessel (engraved by the Rev. Mr. Douglas, in his Nænia;) a fibula, (engraved by Mr. Eoys, in his collections for Sandwich;) the head of a spear, and some fragments of Roman vessels. Much of the earth of sand has been lately removed round the sides of it, but nothing further has been found.
At a small distance northward from hence, at the bottom of a short steep hill, lies the village called Woodnesborough-street, and sometimes Cold Fridaystreet, containing thirty four houses. The vicaragehouse is situated in the middle of it, being a new handsome building; almost contiguous to it is a handsome sashed house, belonging to the Jull family, now made use of as a poor-house; through this street the road leads to Sandwich. West ward of the street stands the parsonage-house, late the seat of Oliver Stephens, esq. deceased, and now of his window, as will be further noticed hereafter. Besides the manors and estates in this parish, particularly described, in the western parts of it there are several hamlets, as Somerfield, Barnsole, Coombe, with New-street, Great and Little Flemings, Ringlemere, and the farm of Christians Court.
In the north east part of the parish, the road from Eastry, by the parsonage of Woodnesborough northwestward, divides; one road, which in antient deeds is called Lovekys-street, going towards Ash-street; the other through the hamlet of Marshborough, formerly called Marshborough, alias Stipins, to Each End and Sandwich, the two windmills close to the entrance of which are with in the bounds of this parish. Each, Upper Each, called antiently Upriche, and Each End, antiently called Netheriche, were both formerly accounted manors, and are mentioned as such in the marriage settlement of Henry Whyte, esq. in the beginning of queen Elizabeth's reign. After the Whytes, these manors passed in like manner as Grove, in this parish, to the James's. Upper Each, or Upriche, has for many years belonged to the family of Abbot, of Ramsgate, and is now the property of John Abbot, esq. of Canterbury. Each End, or Netheriche, belongs, one moiety to the heirs or devisees of the late earl of Strafford, and the other moiety to John Matson, esq. of Sandwich.
¶It cannot but occur to the reader how much this parish abounds with Saxon names, besides the name of Wodens borough, the street of Cold Friday, mentioned before, is certainly derived from the Saxon words, Cola, and Friga, which latter was the name of a goddess, worshipped by the Saxons, and her day Frige-deag, from whence our day of Friday is derived; other places in this parish, mentioned before likewise, claim, surely, their original from the same language.
This parish contains about 3000 acres, the whole rents of it being about 3373l. yearly value. It is very bare of coppice wood; the Old Wood, so called, in Ringleton, being the only one in it. The soil of this parish is very rich and fertile, equal to those the most so in this neighbourhood, particularly as to the plantations of hops, which have much increased within these few years past. The middle of the parish is high ground, and is in general a flat open country of arable common fields. West and south-westward the lands are more inclosed with hedges. North and north-westward of the parsonage, towards Sandwich, they are low and wet, consisting of a large level of marsh land, the nearness of which makes the other parts of this parish rather unhealthy, which is not otherwise very pleasant in any part of it. There was a fair held here yearly, on Holy Thursday, but it has been for some time disused.
In Ringleton field, in this parish, there was found about the year 1514, a fine gold coin, weighing about twelve shillings, with a loop of the same metal to hang it by; on one side was the figure of a young man in armour, a helmet on his head, and a spear over his right shoulder; on the reverse, the figure of Victory, with a sword in her hand, the point downwards.
The church, which is dedicated to St. Mary, consists of a nave, and two isles, having a square tower steeple at the west end, with a modern wooden turret and vane at the top of it, in which are five bells, made in 1676. It had a high spire on the tower, which was taken down some years ago. At the east end of the chancel is a marble tablet for John Cason, esq. of this place, justice of the peace, obt. 1718; John Cason, esq. his son, obt. 1755; arms,Argent, a chevron, sable, between three wolves heads, erased, gules, on an escutcheon of pretence, sable, a chevron, between three fleurs de lis, of the field; another for Thomas Blechenden, of the antient family of that name, of Aldington, in Kent, obt. 1661; arms, Azure, a fess nebulee, argent, between three lions heads erased, or, attired, gules, impalingBoys. On the south side, an antient altar monument with gothic pillars and arches, having had shields and arms, now obliterated. Against the wall, under the canopy, two brass plates, which have been removed to this place, from two grave-stones in the chancel; the first for Sir John Parcar, late vicar of this church, who died the v.day of May, a°o dni m° v° xiij° on the second are Latin verses to the memory of Nichs Spencer, esq. obt. 1593. In the middle of the chancel, a gravestone for William Docksey, esq. of Snellston, in Derbyshire, a justice of the peace, obt. 1760; Sarah his wife, youngest daughter of John Cason, esq. obt. 1774; arms,Or, a lion rampant, azure, surmounted of a bend, argent. On a gravestone on the north side of the chancel, on a brass plate, On a chevron, three quatersoils, between three annulets, quartering other coats, now obliterated, for Master Myghell Heyre, sumtyme vicar of this churche, who dyed the xxii day of July, m° v° xxviii. In the north isle are several memorials for the family of Gillow, arms, A lion rampant, in chief, three fleurs de lis. At the entrance into the chancel, on a grave-stone, on a brass plate, John Hill, gent. of the parish of Nassall, in Staffordshire, obt. 1605. A mural monument for William Gibbs, of this parish, obt. 1777; arms,Argent, three battle axes, in fess, sable. In the church-yard are altar tombs to the memory of the Julls, and for Sladden; one for John Verall, gent. sometime mayor of Sandwich, obt. 1610; and another for John Benchkin, of Pouton, obt. 1639.
There were formerly painted in the windows of this church,Or, a chief indented, azure, for John de Sandwich. Several coats of arms, among which were those of Valence and St. Leger,Argent, three leaves in sinster bend, their points downward, proper.— On a canton, azure, three crescents, or, for Grove.— Argent, three escallops in chief, or, in base a crescent, gules, for Helpestone, usually called Hilpurton, bailiff of Sandwich, in 1299. A shield, being Helpeston's badge, another On a fess engrailed, three cinquefoils, between three garbs, for John Hill, of Nasall, in Staffordshire, who lies buried in this church. —A fess engrailed, three lions rampant, in chief, on the fess, a crescent for difference, for Spencer, customer, of Sandwich. — Quarterly, four coats; first, On a chevron, three quaterfoils; second, Per pale, ermine and argent; third, A cross, between four pomegranates, slipped; sourth,Three bars, wavy, for Michael Heyre, vicar here in 1520.
The church of Woodnesborough was given, in the reign of king Henry I. by a religious woman, one Ascelina de Wodensberg, to the priory of Ledes, soon after the foundation of it; to which deed was witness Robert de Crevequer, founder of the priory, Elias his son, and others; which gift was confirmed by the said Robert, who by his charter, released to the priory all his right and title to it. It was likewise confirmed by archbishop Theobald, and several of his successors, and by king Henry III. by his charter of inspeximus in his 41st year.
Archbishop William Corboil, who came to the see of Canterbury, three years after the foundation of Ledes priory, at the instance and petition of Ascelina above mentioned, who resigned this church into his hands for this purpose, appropriated it to the prior and convent, for the finding of necessary cloaths, for the canons there; and a vicarage was accordingly endowed in it.
There was a controversy between the prior and convent, and Adam, vicar of this church, in 1627, anno 14 Henry II. concerning the great tithes arising from the crofts and curtilages within this parish, which was referred to the prior of Rochester, who was the pope's delegate for this purpose, who determined that the prior and convent of Ledes, as rectors of this church, should receive, without any exception, all the great tithes of wheat, barley, oats, beans, peas, and of every fort of corn arising, or to arise from all lands, crofts, curtilages, or other places whatever, situated within the bounds, of this parish; and that the prior and convent should yearly pay to the said vicar, and his successors, half a seam of barley, and half a seam of beans, at the nativity of our Lord. (fn. 10)
¶After which, this parsonage appropriate,(which appears to have been esteemed as a manor) together with the advowson of the vicarage, remained with the prior and convent of Ledes, till its dissolution in the 31st year of king Henry VIII. when it was, with all its lands and possessions, surrendered into the king's hands, who by his dotation charter, in his 33d year, settled both parsonage and advowson on his new-founded dean and chapter of Rochester, with whom they remain at this time. On the dissolution of deans and chapters, after the death of king Charles I. this parsonage was surveyed in 1649, when is appeared that the manor or parsonage of Woodnesborough, with the scite thereof, and all manner of tithes belonging to it, with a garden and orchard of one acre, was valued all together at 300l. that the lessee was to repair the premises, and the chancel of the church; that the vicarage was worth fifty pounds per annum. The then incumbent was under sequestration, and there was none to serve the cure; and that the church was then quite ruinated, and in great decay. (fn. 11)
Stade Pierre-de-Coubertin, Lausanne, Switzerland
They throw a ball instead of a shot because of their young age.
Cheerleaders put on show for 2ID Soldiers
Story by: Sgt. Scott Kim 1HBCT PAO
Soldiers were given a little something extra for the Holidays as the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders performed their Annual Christmas Concert sponsored by the United Service Organization Dec. 29 at Carey Gym on Camp Casey.
The concert was a Vegas-style dance show with lots of costume changes and music ranging from country to hip hop, all to entertain Soldiers and uplift spirits during the holiday season.
Although the cheerleaders themselves missed the holidays in order to come to Korea, many feel that performing for the troops was well worth the sacrifice.
“This is my very first USO tour and it’s been everything I’ve imagined and more,” said Meagan Sharp, a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader. “It’s been great meeting everybody and see them smile knowing that we brought the a little bit of home to them over Christmas and New Years.”
The cheerleaders gave an energizing and spectacular performance which was extremely well received by Soldiers especially during the audience participation parts.
“They pulled me onstage, told me to stand at parade rest and said I couldn’t move no matter what they did, which was to dance around me,” said Pfc. Anthony Thompkins, a food service specialist for Gulf Co. 302nd BSB. “It was the best experience of my life!”
Along with dancing and trivia from the Cowboys Cheerleaders, Family Morale Welfare and Recreation along with Maj. Gen. John W. Morgan III, commanding general of the 2ID and Lt. Col. Donald Meisler, garrison commander for Camp Casey recognized three Soldiers, Capt. Lauren Shaw, operations officer for 2ID Provost Marshal’s office, Staff Sgt. Kathleen Hedges, a health care specialist for HHC 1st BSTB and Spc. Devin Monroe, a fire support specialist for HHC 2-9 Inf.
Shaw and Hedges were recognized for being on the All-Army Softball team as well as the All-Forces Softball team while Monroe was awarded Athlete of the Year for his participation on Camp Casey’s Flag Football Team.
For some of the cheerleaders it was a particularly touching tour as their own loved ones have served at some time or another.
“I had an uncle in the Marines and I always looked up to him but I never really understood did until I came here,” said Nicole Hamilton, a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader. “Now I have an even greater respect for the military and I can see his (her uncle’s) aspect on things.”
The Soldiers and cheerleaders alike are grateful for the support and sacrifice each makes to the other in order to help them along with whatever it is they do, whether it’s on the field of battle or at a football game.
“I feel good personally knowing that I did my part to make somebody happy, keep them motivated and keep them going,” Hamilton said. “We love the troops and this is our way of giving back to them for all their sacrifice.”
By: Cpl. Bo Park, 2ID
Nicole Hamilton, a member of the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, introduces herself before a mini performance as part of the 2008 USO Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Holiday Korea Tour at the Kilbourne Dining Facility, Camp Red Cloud, Dec. 29
To learn more about the US Army in Korea visit us online at imcom.korea.army.mil
PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti- Petty Officer 3rd Class Antonio Seisdedos (LEFT), of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Seaman Apprentice Chloe Hicks (CENTER) of Jacksonville, Ark., help a young, injured Haitian girl put in ear plugs just prior to be loaded into a Dolphin rescue helicopter for transport to an area hospital Monday, January 18, 2010. Seisdedos helped the crew communicate with the patients by translating for them, explaining what the crew was doing and asking if the patients were comfortable. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Etta Smith)
taken with : Canon 350D + Leica-R 60/2.8 + available light indoors
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www.sildycervera.com/brickell-condos/sls-brickell.htm
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To enquire about SLS Brickell Condos for Sale, or SLS Brickell Condos for Rent, contact Sildy Cervera at 305-490-7559, or via email at sildy@sildycervera.com
I finally put together my easel:) with this weather i feel like painting all day<3! #paint #canvas #easel #oilpanting
These shoes are way out of my comfort zone, what with the shininess and the lack of heel and did I mention they're shiny? But I desperately needed a non-flip-flop flat sandal that I could wear to work because apparently 5 months pregnant is the point at which I can no longer stand to wear heels on a daily basis. I was thinking of everything I learned from M:PT when I picked these, and I think, despite how far out of my comfort zone they are, I kind of love them. They're pretty casual, which makes them good for office wear (the dress code is not strict at my workplace) or weekend wear.
Also, if I may say something about this skirt. I haven't owned a denim skirt since I was in elementary school, and now that I have this one, I can't believe I went so long without it. I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to buy a non-maternity version of this skirt next summer.
Dassanech men put on leopard skins and ostrich feathers headdresses to join dimi ceremony to celebrate circumcision of teenagers, Omo valley, Omorate, Ethiopia , Camera: ILCE-7RM2 , f5.0 , 1/500 , 43.0 mm , ISO 80 , © Eric Lafforgue www.ericlafforgue.com
Construction sites near Moor Street Queensway (mainly near Park Street).
Saw another construction site on Albert Street / Fazeley Street.
This one had pipes in it.
I noticed that the tarmac covering where pipes were laid on Jennens Road went towards Masshouse.
It's poppy season again. A billboard with the message "It's not as painful to put on a poppy".
New research puts us one step closer to unlocking the secret. Researchers from Dalian University of Technology in China used computer tomography (CT) scans of a real-life woodpecker to construct a detailed, digital model of its body. Then they used software to simulate the bird's pecking--a process that can force the woodpecker's head to endure up to 1500 g-force units. For comparison's sake, a passenger on a typical roller coaster will only experience about 5 g's.
Science China Press
A schematic of the woodpecker's pecking process.
The study, published this month in Science China: Technological Sciences, shows that the key to the woodpecker's survival lies in how it converts the energy it absorbs. When a woodpecker strikes a tree, the impact energy--energy that is released during a collision--is converted to strain energy in the body. Too much strain in the head can be catastrophic, but the woodpecker's incredible anatomy--including a specialized beak and skull--redirects most of the strain into the rest of the body, instead of the head.
In fact, 99.7 percent of the strain energy is converted in the woodpecker's body, and only 0.3 percent is converted in the head. This small amount of strain is quickly dissipated from the head in the form of heat. This process protects the brain from damage, but causes temperatures inside the skull to rise quickly, meaning woodpeckers have to take frequent breaks while they're pecking. In this way, the woodpecker's whole body is involved in the fight to protect its brain from damage.
Source ( Audubon Magazine )
Here it is…my last big vacation of 2015. It also happened to be the longest of the year. I’ve actually put off editing these pictures (until this week – mid-January 2016). I’ve been putting this off because, honestly, I have very mixed emotions about the trip.
I have absolutely nothing but good things to say about India and all the Indians I met there – better things yet to say about Indian cuisine. However, I didn’t travel alone, and that caused quite a bit of headaches. So, I’ve been lazier than usual about going through these. However, in looking at them, I’m starting to dwell only on the good side, and hopefully will show that here. (I won’t mention anything else about what or why I didn’t enjoy the trip. Honestly, I hope to go back to India again sometime. It’s the 7th largest country in the world and has a lot to see…)
This particular trip was 13 days…and very localized. We only visited two states: Rajasthan (RJ) and Uttar Pradesh (UP). Also Delhi, though I didn’t go out in Delhi and don’t have a single picture to show for it. In those two weeks, we took the following tour, in this order: landed in Delhi (at 3:00 a.m.) on September 26. At 7:30 a.m., we were on a bus to our first destination: Rajasthan.
The first week we spent in Rajasthan visiting each of these cities for approximately two days: Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, and Udaipur. (I found myself thinking, “There sure are a lot of ‘purs’ here…just like there are a of ‘zhous’ in China – Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Zhengzhou, Zhouzhou. ‘Pur,’ like ‘zhou,’ apparently means “town.”) Rajasthan is hot. Damn hot. Even in late September the daytime temperatures seemed to soar close to 40 degrees. At least 35, for certain… Rajasthan has a lot of desert terrain and many castles. Quite a few old palaces are out in Rajasthan, so it can tend to have a bit of a romantic feel to it.
After finishing in Rajasthan, we went over to Uttar Pradesh for literally one afternoon seeing the Taj Mahal in Agra, before shuffling off to the holy city of Varanasi (one of Hinduism’s most famous – if not the most famous – cities). From Varanasi, we took an 18 hour train ride (during which I apparently ate something so nasty that it stayed with me…for close to three months). Note to readers: Try to avoid eating on Indian trains. After another two days in Delhi, we flew back around 4:00 in the morning on October 9. For now…back to the beginning in Jaipur.
Jaipur is famously called the Pink City. A lot of the old town architecture is pink, so…well, you get the idea. It’s named for its founder, Jai Singh II (1688-1744), a great warrior-astronomer who assumed power at age 11 upon his father’s death.
The following is from Lonely Planet India: “Jai Singh could trace his lineage back to the Rajput clan of Kachhawas, who consolidated their power in the 12th century.” Their capital was at Amber (which is pronounced ahm-AIR…not AM-burr) about 10 kilometers northeast of town. This is northern India’s first planned city, if LP is being honest with me.
All I hope you get out of that is that this is an area with close to a millennium of “important” history to India, but the city of Jaipur as we see it now is only about 300-400 years old. Jaipur currently has a population of about three million. There’s an Old City (Pink City) which is where most of the tourists head – including yours truly – a new city, and….that’s about it. For my purposes (and in an attempt at brevity), I’ll say we went to the Central Museum (Albert Hall) south of the Old City. We also visited Hawa Mahal, Tripolia Bazaar (and Gate), and Jantar Mantar in the Old City. Other than that, we went to Amber Fort for a few hours.
Things started innocuously enough. We had left Delhi at 7:30 in the morning and gotten to Jaipur about 5 hours later. We had one stop on the bus for breakfast. I don’t recall what I ate…some type of curry, of course, but I don’t recall which. It may have just been mutter paneer. It was, however, delicious, and I didn’t feel hungry at all again until dinner.
The bus. Bus transportation in India, by the way, is rather interesting. Sometimes they are private buses (the small kind that only hold 8-12 people), sometimes sleeper buses, sometimes regular coaches…but the regular coaches didn’t seem too common. There doesn’t seem to be any uniformity in India about this.
Anyway, the bus dropped us off right next to Amber Fort. Since this was one of the small 8-12 person jobs, it could pretty much stop and go where it pleased, it seems, and this one didn’t actually take us to Jaipur.
As soon as we got off the bus here, we hired a tuk tuk (san lun che, for you Chinese readers) that took us down to the Old City. There, we switched to another one that took us the 2-3 kilometers west of the Old City to the more quiet and residential Bani Park where our hotel (the Hotel Anuraag Villa, which turned out to be about the nicest one we stayed in) was located. The second tuk tuk driver is the one we hired to take us around that afternoon and the next day. For the first day, I paid 500 rupees (~50 RMB/$8) for 4-6 hours’ work. We checked in and he waited patiently as we ate lunch in the backyard of the hotel.
Our driver took us first to the Central Museum (Albert Hall) where we spent an hour or two in mid-afternoon. The museum itself isn’t too bad. It has standard fare: tribal dress, Buddhist sculptures, even an Egyptian mummy. The building itself, though, is worth seeing. Anyway, an hour here was more than enough time.
From there, we went to the Sun Temple (I think that’s what it’s called) where I enjoyed the late afternoon sun (and rather smoggy view, though not quite as smoggy as Chinese cities I’m accustomed to). After that, we ended up going to a rather nice restaurant that cost about 2500 rupees (250 RMB/$40) for two. I splurged. It was fantastic.
After a night of sleep that may or may not have transported me to an alternate universe (I sleep more deeply than most bears), I woke up ready to go the next morning. I hired the same tuk tuk driver to haul us around, and we went first to the Old City (Hawa Mahal, the Tripolia Bazaar, Jantar Mantar, and Amber Fort…plus another fort in the middle of the water whose name I’ve forgotten). Though the time was a little shorter than the previous day, I paid him 750 rupee, since he actually drove us around farther. That’s still just under $15, so I had no problem with that.
Hawa Mahal (Palace of the Winds) is the most recognizable architectural building in the Pink City (though it’s technically just outside the Old City). It’s a five story building that was built by Sawai Pratap Singh in 1799 to “enable ladies of the royal household to watch the life and processions of the city.” There are nice views of Jantar Mantar and the City Palace to the west and the Siredoori Bazaar directly across the street.
Jantar Mantar is an observatory that was built by Jai Singh in 1728. “Jantar mantar” is derived from the Sanskrit “yanta mantr,” which means “instrument of calculation.” There are some rather large, interesting, and certainly eclectic sculptures, all for measuring time among the heavens.
Amber Fort was the highlight of Jaipur for me. The Kachhawaha Rajputs ruled from here for over 800 years. This fort was built beginning in 1592 by Maharaja Man Singh using war booty. It’s a royal palace built from pale yellow and pink sandstone with various courtyards. If you walk up the hill, you will enter the fort through the Suraj Pol (Sun Gate) and find yourself in Jaleb Chowk (Main Square) where the armies presented to the king. Walking up the stairs from Jaleb Chowk will bring you to the second courtyard and Diwan-I-Am (Hall of Public Audience) with its double row of columns. The maharaja’s apartments are located around the third courtyard, which you enter through Ganesh Pol. On one side of the interior courtyard is the Jai Mandir (Hall of Victory) which has many mirrored tiles. On the opposite side of Jai Mandir, across Maota Lake (a very small decorative pond, really) is Sukh Niwas (Hall of Pleasure). The fourth courtyard has the zenana (women’s quarters), which were designed so the maharaja could make his nightly visits without the other women knowing about it. In all, the fort/palace and the views from the fort are wonderful. I won’t say “breathtaking” or “stunning,” but certainly worth the visit.
Once I bade farewell to the tuk tuk driver, we wandered around the Old City a little longer before heading over to the hotel for dinner and to see a puppet show (that was not free, but wasn’t advertised as costing anything; they basically try to shame you into “donating” when they’re done). After that, we headed to the train station for a midnight ride across the state on Indian Railways…the first of five train rides throughout these two weeks.
If anyone has seen Slumdog Millionaire, you saw Indian Railways in action…with people riding ON the cars, among other things. I didn’t see anything quite like that, but…the lowest class passenger cars were quite crowded. We were always in first- or second-class sleepers which, to me, didn’t differ too much from the style of sleeper cars in China, though they weren’t quite as nice. They were…very close to the same, at least from my experience.
So, goodbye Pink City and hello Golden City. Jaisalmer was a twelve hour ride due west from Jaipur, and we arrived sometime mid-morning. More to come…
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
In the grand scope of World War 2 fighter aircraft there is a little-remembered French design designated the Arsenal "VG-33". The aircraft was born from a rather lengthy line of prototype developments put forth by the company in the years leading up to World War 2 and the VG-33 and its derivatives represented the culmination of this work before the German invasion rendered all further work moot.
The Arsenal de l'Aeronautique company was formed by the French government in 1936 ahead of World War 2. It began operations with dedicated design and development of a fast fighter type until the German conquer of France in 1940 after which the company then focused on engine production after 1945. Then followed a period of design and construction of gliders and missiles before being privatized in 1952 (as SFECMAS). The company then fell under the SNCAN brand label and became "Nord Aviation" in 1955.
The VG-33 was the result of the company's research. Work on a new fast fighter began by Arsenal engineers in 1936 and the line began with the original VG-30 prototype achieving first flight on October 1st, 1938. Named for engineer Vernisse (V) and designer Jean Gaultier (G), the VG-30 showcased a sound design with good performance and speed during the tests, certainly suitable for progression as a military fighter and with future potential.
Development continued into what became the VG-31 which incorporated smaller wings. The VG-32 then followed which returned to the full-sized wings and installed the American Allison V-1710-C15 inline supercharged engine of 1,054 horsepower. The VG-32 then formed the basis of the VG-33 which reverted to a Hispano-Suiza 12Y-31 engine and first flight was in early 1939, months ahead of the German invasion of Poland. Flight testing then spanned into August and serial production of this model was ordered.
The VG-33 was one of the more impressive prewar fighter ventures by the French that included the Dewoitine D.520, understood to be on par with the lead German fighter aircraft of the period - the famous Messerschmitt Bf 109.
Only about forty or so French Arsenal VG-33 fighters were completed before the Fall of France in 1940, with 160 more on order and in different states of completion. Despite the production contract, Arsenal' engineers continued work on the basic design for improved and specialized sub-types. The VG-34 appeared in early 1940 outfitted with the Hispano-Suiza 12Y-45 engine of 935 horsepower, which improved performance at altitude. An uprated engine was installed in VG-35 and VG-36, too. They utilized a Hispano-Suiza 12Y-51 engine of 1,000 horsepower with a revised undercarriage and radiator system.
VG-37 was a long-range version that was not furthered beyond the drawing board, but the VG-38 with a Hispano-Suiza 12Y-77 engine that featured two exhaust turbochargers for improved performance at high altitude, achived pre-production status with a series of about 10 aircraft. These were transferred to GC 1/3 for field trials in early 1940 and actively used in the defence against the German invasion.
The VG-39 ended the line as the last viable prototype model with its drive emerging from a Hispano-Suiza 12Z engine of 1,280 horsepower. A new three-machine-gun wing was installed for a formidable six-gun armament array. This model was also ordered into production as the VG-39bis and was to carry a 1,600 horsepower Hispano-Suiza 12Z-17 engine into service. However, the German invasion eliminated any further progress, and eventually any work on the Arsenal VG fighter family was abandoned, even though more designs were planned, e .g. the VG-40, which mounted a Rolls-Royce Merlin III, and the VG-50, featuring the newer Allison V-1710-39. Neither was built.
Anyway, the finalized VG-38 was an all-modern looking fighter design with elegant lines and a streamlined appearance. Its power came from an inline engine fitted to the front of the fuselage and headed by a large propeller spinner at the center of a three-bladed unit. The cockpit was held over midships with the fuselage tapering to become the tail unit.
The tail featured a rounded vertical tail fin and low-set horizontal planes in a traditional arrangement - all surfaces enlarged for improved high altitude performance.
The monoplane wing assemblies were at the center of the design in the usual way. The pilot's field of view was hampered by the long nose ahead, the wings below and the raised fuselage spine aft, even though the pilot sat under a largely unobstructed canopy utilizing light framing. The canopy opened to starboard.
A large air scoop for the radiator and air intercooler was mounted under the fuselage. As an unusual feature its outlet was located in a dorsal position, behind the cockpit. The undercarriage was of the typical tail-dragger arrangement of the period, retracting inwards. The tail wheel was retractable, too.
Construction was largely of wood which led to a very lightweight design that aided performance and the manufacture process. Unlike other fighters of the 1930s, the VG-38 was well-armed with a 20mm Hispano-Suiza cannon, firing through the propeller hub, complemented by 4 x 7.5mm MAC 1934 series machine guns in the wings, just like the VG-33.
The aircraft never saw combat action in the Battle of France. Its arrival was simply too late to have any effect on the outcome of the German plans. Therefore, with limited production and very limited combat service during the defence of Paris in May 1940, it largely fell into the pages of history with all completed models lost.
Specifications:
Crew: 1
Length: 28.05 ft (8.55 m)
Width: 35.43 ft (10.80 m)
Height: 10.83ft (3.30 m)
Weight: Empty 4,519 lb (2,050 kg), MTOW 5,853 lb (2,655 kg)
Maximum Speed: 398 mph (641 kmh at 10.000m)
Maximum Range: 746 miles (1,200 km)
Service Ceiling: 39,305 ft (12.000 m; 7.458 miles)
Powerplant:
1x Hispano-Suiza 12Y-77 V-12 liquid-cooled inline piston engine
with two Brown-Boveri exhaust turbochargers, developing 1,100 hp (820 kW).
Armament:
1x 20mm Hispano-Suiza HS.404 cannon, firing through the propeller hub
4x 7.5mm MAC 1934 machine guns in the outer wings
The kit and its assembly:
I found the VG-33 fascinating - an obscure and sleek fighter with lots of potential that suffered mainly from bad timing. There are actually VG-33 kits from Azur and Pegasus, but how much more fun is it to create your own interpretation of the historic events, esp. as a submission to a Battle of Britain Group Build at whatifmodelers.com?
I had this project on the whif agenda for a long time, and kept my eyes open for potential models. One day I encountered Amodel's Su-1 and Su-3 kits and was stunned by this aircraft's overall similarity to the VG-33. When I found the real VG-38 description I decided to convert the Su-3 into this elusive French fighter!
The Su-3 was built mainly OOB, it is a nice kit with much detail, even though it needs some work as a short run offering. I kept the odd radiator installation of the Suchoj aircraft, but changed the landing gear from a P-40 style design (retracting backwards and rotating 90°) into a conservative, inward retracting system. I even found forked gear struts in the spares box, from a Fiat G.50. The covers come from a Hawker Hurricane, and the wells were cut out from this pattern, while the rest of the old wells was filled with putty.
Further mods include the cleaned cowling (the Su-3's fuselage-mounted machine guns had to go), while machine guns in the wings were added. The flaps were lowered, too, and the small cockpit canopy cut in two pieces in, for an opened position - a shame you can hardly see anything from the neat interior. Two large antenna masts complete the French style.
Painting and markings:
Again, a rather conservative choice: typical French Air Force colors, in Khaki/Dark Brown/Blue Gray with light blue-gray undersides.
One very inspiring fact about the French tricolor-paint scheme is that no aircraft looked like the other – except for a few types, every aircraft had an individual scheme with more or less complexity or even artistic approach. Even the colors were only vaguely unified: Field mixes were common, as well as mods with other colors that were mixed into the basic three tones!
I settled for a scheme I found on a 1940 Curtiss 75, with clearly defined edges between the paint fields. Anything goes! I used French Khaki, Dark Blue Grey and Light Blue Grey (for the undersides) from Modelmaster's Authentic Enamels range, and Humbrol 170 (Brown Bess) for the Chestnut Brown. Interior surfaces were painted in dark grey (Humbrol 32) while the landing gear well parts of the wings were painted in Aluminum Dope (Humbrol 56).
The decals mainly come from a Hobby Boss Dewoitine D.520, but also from a PrintScale aftermarket sheet and the scrap box.
The kit was slightly weathered with a black ink wash and some dry-painting, more for a dramatic effect than simulating wear and tear, since any aircraft from the VG-33 family would only have had a very short service career.
Well, a travesty whif - and who would expect an obscure Soviet experimental fighter to perform as a lookalike for an even more obscure French experimental fighter? IMHO, it works pretty fine - conservative sould might fair over the spinal radiator outlet and open the dorsal installation, overall both aircraft are very similar in shape, size and layout. :D
A close up of the extraordinary palps of the male cellar spider, Pholcus phalangioides. Its shots like this that make it obvious why the male palps are often described as 'boxing gloves'.
Water & Light at Sassi Mazar Balochistan May30, 2015
SUN SHINES IN THE NIGHT
Sassi punnu mausoleum got Solar Energy
Every year thousands of peoples from various parts of Sindh, Baluchistan and Punjab gather at the shrine of Sassi and Punnu in Singher village to attend a 3 days carnival. Singher village is , 52 Kilometers away from Hub town. Singher means chain, as the village is surrounded by the chain of hills where it is believed that Sassi and Punnu were buried under a landslide.
Before the monsoon a carnival organizing committee receives donation from the Baloch tribal chiefs of Sindh and Balochistan to bear the expenditures of the event. Collected funds are mostly used for providing food, water and accommodation to all the devotees there. Sufi Faqirs (singers) from Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab travel to perform songs on the occasion to pay homage to Sassi Punnu, the popular tragic romance of Sindh and Balochistan. Besides folk songs, a traditional Sindhi game malakhro similar to Japanese wrestling sumo also attracts a large number of the people to come there.
Lands from mountains with old graves scattered in the area and rainy water ways are quite difficult to cross for the travellers. Despite this, devotees, males and females, travel long distance to visit the site the entire year. For the local people, camel is the only means of transport and people gather there during the occasion.
There is only one well, which is useful for the communities otherwise the entire area underground water level is unsafe for human consumption. In case the area receives monsoon rains the people use rainy water from ponds.
For the benefit of peoples living in surroundings as well as devotees who visit during carnival and over the year, Masood Lohar, country Manager UNDP, GEF small grant program decided to use solar energy for providing clean and safe water and lighting on the mausoleum.
On 30th May 2015, Shaan Technologies Private Limited installed a 3 HP Solar Powered pump on a 250 ft deep well that is located near the tomb. Operating on a 3 kilowatt solar panel bank this pump provide 30 Gallon water per minutes & eliminates requirement of diesel generator operated pump that organizing committee previously used to supply water during the festival.
Now solar pump serves as a continuous source of clean water without any additional cost. A water tank is provided to store pumped water. This tank helped as a 24 hours ready source of water for the local people.
In addition to that 2 solar powered floodlights were also installed in front yard of tomb. These 14 watt LED lights runs on a 35 watt solar panel that provide sufficient power to run LED lamps up to 12 hours. Dusk to Dawn photo sensors is also used in the system that automatically turns on the light just before the sunset and turns off at dawn. This project was financed by the UNDP GEF Small grant program. Lodhie foundation contributed 10% cost of the project under its poverty alleviation initiative.
Project Summary
Location: Sassi Punnu Moseleum, Singher Village, Near Hub Dam, Baluchistan
Coordinates: 25°18'41"N 66°53'21"E
Nearby cities: Karachi, Hub City, Sonmiani / Winder city
Initiated By: UNDP, GEF Small Grant Program in association of Lodhie Foundation
Implemented by: Shaan Technologies Private Limited Karachi
Implantation Date: 30Th May 2015
Equipment installed:
(1) One 3HP DC Submersible water pump with 3KW Solar panels and Pump Controller
(2) Two Solar Powered LED Floodlights
Beneficiaries: Up to 2500 people living in the Singher village and surroundings
Folktale of Sassi & Punnu
Sassi Punnu is a famous folktale of love told in the length and breadth of Sindh, Pakistan. The story is about a faithful wife who is ready to undergo all kinds of troubles that would come her way while seeking her beloved husband who was separated from her by the rivals
Sassi was the daughter of a Brahman Hindu Rajah from Rohri . Upon Sassui's birth, astrologers predicted that she was a curse for the royal family’s prestige. The Raja ordered that the child be put in a wooden box and thrown in the Sindhu, present day’s river Indus. However, she was saved by a washer-man belonging to Bhanbhor, near Gharo district, Thatta . The washer-man raised her as his own daughter.
When Sassui became a young girl, she was as beautiful as the fairies of heaven. Stories of her beauty reached Punhun a prince from Kech Makran Balochistan and he became desperate to meet Sassi. The handsome young Prince therefore travelled to Bhambore. He sent his clothes to Sassi's father (a washerman) so that he could catch a glimpse of Sassi. When he visited the washerman's house, they fell in love at first sight. Sassui's father was dispirited, hoping that Sassi would marry a washerman and no one else. He asked Punnhun to prove that he was worthy of Sassui by passing the test as a washerman. Punnhun agreed to prove his love. While washing, he tore all the clothes as, being a prince, he had never washed any clothes; he thus failed the agreement. But before he returned those clothes, he hid gold coins in the pockets of all the clothes, hoping this would keep the villagers quiet. The trick worked, and Sassui's father agreed to the marriage.
At last Punnu (Punhoon) married her. However, his father, Ari, the King of Ketch, did not like his son getting married to a low-caste girl, so he instructed his other sons to go to Bhanbhor and bring back Punnu at any cost. They visited Punnu as his guests and during the night they intoxicated him and his wife. Later, they put their brother on one of the camels and left. When Sassi woke up in the morning, she was shocked to find Punnu missing and all his brothers gone. She understood their trickery. She left Bhambhor immediately to Kech Makran on foot in search of him. The Kech Makran is located along the Makran Coastal Highway in Baluchistan, Pakistan.
After crossing Pab Mountain, she reached the Harho range. She could not proceed further when her path was blocked by the Phor River. So she started retracing her steps. Soon she was accosted by a beastly goatherd who intended to molest her. Sassi prayed to God for protection. Immediately the ground below her feet started caving in like quicksand and she disappeared within seconds. Seeing the miracle, the goatherd repented sincerely, and to make amends for his misconduct, he made a grave in the site and became its custodian.
Punnu found no peace of mind at Kech. He languished and soon became an invalid. Under the circumstances, his father allowed him to return to Bhambhor.
During his return journey, Punnu happened to pass by the site where Sassi had met her death. When the goatherd came to know his story, he told him as to what had happened to Sassi. Punnu was beside himself on hearing the horrible news.
He prayed to God to unite him with Sassi. Again the ground became quicksand and he soon disappeared into the bowels of the earth. So came to an end the tragic love story of Sassi and Punnu. The legendary grave still exists in this valley.
The famous Sufi saint and poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai sings this historic tale in his sufi poetry “Shah jo Risalo” as an example of eternal love and union with Divine.
Sassi’s resting place is said to be about 45 miles away in the Pub range to the west of Karachi. A local man of some importance constructed a simple mausoleum in 1980 over the joint grave of Sassi and Punnu. It is often visited by tourists.
Andrea Argabright of West Virginia University puts the finishing touches on their team entry in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2013 house at Orange County Great Park in Irvine, CA on October 2, 2013. Credit: Eric Grigorian/U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon
I put my trust into you guys in letting you lead the way on this walk…..And now look……We are lost in the deepest jungle miles away from any civilisation ……And to make matters worse…… I swear I caught a glimpse of a python snake in the poison yellow plant undergrowth……And for goodness sake don’t look behind you now, but I swear that is a black widow spider on the gate …..And don’t get me started on the pack Lions I can hear behind the hedge row……Gulps…..Now form a ring of steel around me to protect me from this place and get me back to civilisation as quickly as you can……..What do you mean that I have over exaggerated our problem by calling a worm a snake……A money spider a black widow…..And a herd of dairy cows a pride of lions ……And making a butter cup into a poison plant……And that the facts are, that we are in the Oxfordshire countryside, in middle England……..Ummmmmmmm…….Well okay…….Maybe it was a bit of over reaction on my part……But you should know by now….. That I like to see a pub or two on our walks……And look as I might……I really don’t see one……Do you….No …..I thought not……What that you say…..You have packed a couple of beers in my camera bag for me to sit and enjoy……. That’s great news guys……Now come and sit close with me whilst I enjoy…..And let me say that I never really doubted you guys……As I always knew I could trust a Sheltie to get it right ….
Trevi fountain (put these on short view)
11/20/2004 When in Rome! Heather and Rich fly to Rome and have fun on their first day.
It is 11:30 pm local time, and oh but we've been footsore and on the way. It all started a couple of day ago, Thursday for us, when we left home about 6:40 pm with Maddy and Spencer. I officially finished the book by writing two chapter intros. I later got on line and learned that Schuyler planned to do intros for ch1 and ch6, and write the 'how gps works' section for ch5. This meant that I am, officially, at least until QC (quality control) comes back, done with the book.
Wow.
And we drove to Dad's and the kids were rambunctious until we opened up our new CD's for Harry Potter and the Prisonar of Azkaban...we listened to the first CD and that quieted them right down!
And we had a dinner at Dad and Judy's and then up to my Mom's, where we chatted a bit...then bed. And the 5:15 am alarm. It didn't feel all that bad, surprisingly.
The flight to NY went well. I watched the incredibly stupid, but still amusing, movie Anchor Man, heather geeked on our itinery. Then I did a bit, then geeked with my GPS.
Note to self...GPS is cool, and this whole idea of narrative of place is cool, but really, taking GPS tracks in Rome doesn't work that well. I think it is best supplemented with voice recordings of places and later geocoding to a map.
hmmm. I try and create meaning by automatically/quasi automatically parsing track logs of less meaningful trips or segments of trips-down I5 to go lobster diving, for example, but perhaps it is the meaning in the trip that is more important. The GPS is a tool for helping to look at that, but I think I can post process intermittent track points, coupled with memory and photos and voice recordings, to get a better sense of trip.
Anyway...the leg to NY went very quickly. Then we were stuck on the tarmac for a bit while our gate was cleared for us. Eeeks...I had to pee!
Then we actually were in a bit of a rush to make our connection...we got there before the 'we are closing the door on your ass' stage, but not much!
I felt a bit ick for a bit, but once I took an ibuprofen, got rid of my heart burn and had some dinner i was okay. We took sleeping pills when we took off. I took another one after dinner, and then forced myself to try to sleep.
It didn't feel as though it were working-almost as though the sleeping pill made weary but not asleep...odd feeling. But I guess I slepped. Heather woke me when they served breakfast. I did not wake easily, and I went back to sleep a couple of times. I was seeing double for part of the time.
Poor Heather says she only slept about 2 hours.
But we arrived, and waltzed through customs and onto the train. Amazing! About 10 euros apiece and we had a nice train ride with two Italian women and an italian man...we didn't really talk, but, oh well.
Into the train station, and a bit of trouble getting oriented to find our hotel. Now it is easy, but the first time was not so easy.
And then somehow it got later and we figured out the metro to go to the vatican. I was pissy about wanting to eat, and we had trouble with that-the place Heather wanted for us wasn't open until 12:30. We had okay ham and cheese sandwiches and excellent olives from a deli, ate in the plazza (?) by the gellatti milleneum.
Then we went up to the vatican. We had missed the vatican museum, sadly, but we perservered and toured Saint Peters. Heather and I were seperated at this point. I hooked up with a free tour guide and learned lots of great stuff.
Heather called when I was about to learn how to become a Swiss Guard. I accidentally hung up on her, and then couldn't figure out how to call her back, but I guessed she'd be in the front, and she was. She was pooped! But gamely lead me through the tombs of the popes. That is neat...it is so non-cave like...and yet, there is plenty of room for more of them :-)
Well we hiked back to the metro, metroe'd back to the train station and walked back to the hotel and took a 2ish hour nap...it was about 3:00 when we started this 'nap' thing.
Well we woke and did like the Romans, and then got ourselves out of the hotel. We took the 40 bus out and walked down to campo di fiori and did Rick Steve's 'Nighttime rome' walk...
We had dinner in the Piazza Navona at the 'Tre Scalini' cafe/Mokarabina coffee bar. We had drinks an appetizer and a primi-ie, we shared 1 appetizer and 1 primi, and a desert, shared, and it cost a bit. Later we saw what looked like better food for much less money. live and learn. I loved the pantheon (only the outside, as it was closed) and saw where kids had set up to camp at the pantheon, etc.
We got minorly scammed at the Trevi fountain over some flowers that were 'given' to us...and when I didnt' pay enough for them the guy took 2 of three back! ack. I was not too annoyed-I mean, I should know better, right?
And I took pictures and we made our way back to the hotel.
tags: italy heather rich rome
Though the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau had put the excellent MiG-15 fighter in production, MiG felt it could further improve on the design. The MiG-15 had shown itself to be unstable as it neared the speed of sound, and it was anticipated that further refinement could be done to the aircraft. As a result, MiG OKB began work on an improved MiG-15, referred to as the MiG-15-45 because of its primary characteristic, an improved swept wing. This new wing was thinner than that on the MiG-15, included wing fences for improved aerodynamics, and was swept at 45 degrees near the wingroot and to a slightly lesser degree at the wingtip, giving the new variant a distinctive “banana-wing” shape. The fuselage was extended to incorporate an afterburner on the VK-1F turbojet, while a small ventral fin was added beneath the tail to further improve stability. While the MiG-17 could not quite break the sound barrier, it was very stable in most respects and kept the heavy armament and good all-around visibility of the MiG-15. The design changes were enough to warrant a new designation, so it became the MiG-17.
The first MiG-17 flew in January 1950, and low-level production soon began—low-level due to the urgent need for MiG-15s to fight in the Korean War. Not until after the war had ended did full-scale production begin on the MiG-17. By then, it was considered somewhat obsolescent: the supersonic MiG-19 was placed in production alongside the MiG-17, while work had begun on the MiG-21. Nonetheless, it was kept in production for the rest of the decade as the MiG-19 proved to be a disappointment. The MiG-17 was updated in 1953 after the Soviet Union captured a F-86F Sabre, and copied elements of the Sabre’s ejection seat and gunsight into the new fighter. It was dubbed “Fresco” by NATO. Attempts were made to build all-weather versions of the MiG-17 with mixed results; the all-missile MiG-17PM was reviled by its pilots due to a poor radar and worse missiles. The most common version was the day fighter MiG-17F.
The MiG-17’s combat debut was not auspicious, seeing action in the 1956 Suez War and the 1958 Quemoy Crisis. In the former, Egypt’s few MiG-17s were outnumbered and outflown by French and Israeli Mystere IV and Super Mystere fighters, while over the Taiwan Straits, People’s Republic of China MiG-17s were ambushed by Republic of China F-86Fs equipped with Sidewinder missiles. By 1960, production had ended, and the Soviet Union sold off most of its stock to client states, reequipping with more modern MiG-21s.
In 1962, the Soviet Union supplied the nascent North Vietnamese People’s Air Force with 36 MiG-17Fs as the nucleus of a new air force, and to offset the American-supplied Thai and South Vietnamese air forces. By 1965, when Operation Rolling Thunder began, these aircraft were sent against US Air Force and Navy fighters. The MiG-17 would remain the primary VPAF aircraft throughout Rolling Thunder, though it was gradually supplemented by the MiG-21. Since the MiG-17 was subsonic and lacked radar, it depended on ground radar to guide the pilot to the target, but once in a dogfight, the small, very maneuverable, cannon-armed MiG had a definite advantage over American aircraft; only the F-8 Crusader came remotely close to matching it. A favorite tactic of MiG-17 pilots was to hide “in the grass” at low level and pick off any unwary American pilot, or attack during a bomb run when their opponents were at their weakest. It came as a rude surprise to American pilots that semi-obsolete aircraft were still capable of destroying the latest word in military equipment, and it pointed up the deficiencies in American air combat training.
MiG-17s accounted for about 50 USAF and Navy aircraft during Rolling Thunder, enough that when the Top Gun program was formed in 1969, A-4 Skyhawks were assigned specifically to simulate them. This was also secretly supplemented by two ex-Syrian MiG-17Fs captured by Israel in 1968 and given to the United States under Project Have Drill. One deficiency that was found in the MiG-17 was that, at high speeds and low altitudes, compressibility would set in and the aircraft became unresponsive to the controls. These lessons were put to good use when American strikes resumed in 1972. By this time, the VPAF had largely withdrawn its MiG-17s to training units, preferring the more modern MiG-19 and MiG-21. While the MiG-17 did account for a few more kills, they mostly ended up being shot down by better trained US Navy pilots and USAF F-4E pilots, who now had internal guns themselves. In the right hands, a MiG-17 was still a formidable opponent, as US Navy aces Randy Cunningham and William Driscoll found out on 10 May 1972, when a MiG-17 dueled in the vertical with their F-4J for nearly ten minutes before it was finally shot down.
After Vietnam, the MiG-17 had outlived its usefulness, and though it would see limited service in African brushfire wars and in the Yom Kippur War of 1973, what few air forces retained them relegated them to second-line and training units. A few persisted in the Albanian and North Korean air forces until 2000. 10,603 MiG-17s were built by the Soviet Union, Poland, and China, serving in 40 air forces; today, several hundred still remain in museums and in flyable condition, including 27 in the United States alone.
This is the Museum of Flight's example, a MiG-17F formerly operated by the Royal Moroccan Air Force. As the Moroccans turned to the West for new fighters, their MiG-17s were retired and slated to be scrapped. Major General Frederick "Boots" Blesse (author of the "fighter pilot's Bible," "No Guts, No Glory") asked if one of the MiGs could be preserved for the Champlin Fighter Museum. The RMAF agreed, and the MiG-17 was disassembled and shipped to Arizona. When the Champlin collection was donated to the Museum of Flight, the MiG-17 came with it. It is painted in the colors of the North Vietnamese People's Air Force during the Vietnam War. The VPAF did not use a "standard" camouflage during the war, utilizing several different schemes; this one wears dark green stripes over a light green base.
Enjoy my art? Visit the Shane Gorski Photography Store and enjoy it in print!
Being that I'm the most annoying companion ever, I brought my SLR to put-put. I took many shots of my fiancé and the expression just wasn't working for me. Then Sara walked into this spot on the course with really good lighting and revealed a beautiful smile. I locked in my settings and took what I think is one of the best pictures of my lady.
put together from pieces of our winter garden. surprised to find precisely the right colors.
calendula flowers (dried from earlier in the year. i used them in my bath the night before, i had thrown them back in the garden after bath)
pomegranate flowers
pomegranate fruit pith
watermelon seeds and dirt
basil seeds
Stade Pierre-de-Coubertin, Lausanne, Switzerland
They throw a ball instead of a shot because of their young age.
Put a new bird feeder on a tree in our backyard...been having fun with my 150-500mm lens. French Kiss texture "Yultide" with color changed to light brown.
This is our Halloween inspired “Art Offering” for 2013. It features, Alberto, Rebecca, Art, Victoria, LiLi & Eric from our church. Our pastor, Greg Harman , took the photos.
Ephesians 4:22-24 inspired us: “You were taught with regard to your former way of life, to put off your OLD SELF, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life. Be renewed in the spirit of your mind, put on the NEW SELF, a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct, modeled after the very likeness of God: truthful, righteous, and holy.”
Of all the pics I put together for the Lego Advent Calendar set, this is the one that I'm most proud of. Part of the reason is because it turned out exactly as I wanted it to, with relatively minimal editing. It turned out so well (hah, at least in my mind!) that I worried most people would assume it was all Photoshop.
It was actually a delicately constructed two-piece set. The background was set against a piece of light-blue bristolboard. I spaced the two rolling hills apart about 1/4 inch to give it added depth. The trees were inserted between the two hills, about 1/8 an inch on each side.
The foreground was simply two pieces of paper taped together in a creative way that allowed for a subtle rolling landscape. The troll warrior couldn't stand properly on the incline, though, so I had to improvise. I cut a small hole through the paper and then used a 3x2 plate and some small pieces to anchor the troll in place.
After it was all constructed (which took about 90 minutes), I sat it at the window where it would be side-lit. The pictures came out a bit dull, but once I adjust the levels, the image really popped. The rolling landscape allowed for awesome blue shadows that looked exactly like snow, and the foreground and background blended so perfectly in the bokeh that only minimal tweaks were needed to make it seamless. Overlaying a snow pattern added a layer of charm and whimsy to the final image.
Here it is…my last big vacation of 2015. It also happened to be the longest of the year. I’ve actually put off editing these pictures (until this week – mid-January 2016). I’ve been putting this off because, honestly, I have very mixed emotions about the trip.
I have absolutely nothing but good things to say about India and all the Indians I met there – better things yet to say about Indian cuisine. However, I didn’t travel alone, and that caused quite a bit of headaches. So, I’ve been lazier than usual about going through these. However, in looking at them, I’m starting to dwell only on the good side, and hopefully will show that here. (I won’t mention anything else about what or why I didn’t enjoy the trip. Honestly, I hope to go back to India again sometime. It’s the 7th largest country in the world and has a lot to see…)
This particular trip was 13 days…and very localized. We only visited two states: Rajasthan (RJ) and Uttar Pradesh (UP). Also Delhi, though I didn’t go out in Delhi and don’t have a single picture to show for it. In those two weeks, we took the following tour, in this order: landed in Delhi (at 3:00 a.m.) on September 26. At 7:30 a.m., we were on a bus to our first destination: Rajasthan.
The first week we spent in Rajasthan visiting each of these cities for approximately two days: Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, and Udaipur. (I found myself thinking, “There sure are a lot of ‘purs’ here…just like there are a of ‘zhous’ in China – Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Zhengzhou, Zhouzhou. ‘Pur,’ like ‘zhou,’ apparently means “town.”) Rajasthan is hot. Damn hot. Even in late September the daytime temperatures seemed to soar close to 40 degrees. At least 35, for certain… Rajasthan has a lot of desert terrain and many castles. Quite a few old palaces are out in Rajasthan, so it can tend to have a bit of a romantic feel to it.
After finishing in Rajasthan, we went over to Uttar Pradesh for literally one afternoon seeing the Taj Mahal in Agra, before shuffling off to the holy city of Varanasi (one of Hinduism’s most famous – if not the most famous – cities). From Varanasi, we took an 18 hour train ride (during which I apparently ate something so nasty that it stayed with me…for close to three months). Note to readers: Try to avoid eating on Indian trains. After another two days in Delhi, we flew back around 4:00 in the morning on October 9. For now…back to the beginning in Jaipur.
Jaipur is famously called the Pink City. A lot of the old town architecture is pink, so…well, you get the idea. It’s named for its founder, Jai Singh II (1688-1744), a great warrior-astronomer who assumed power at age 11 upon his father’s death.
The following is from Lonely Planet India: “Jai Singh could trace his lineage back to the Rajput clan of Kachhawas, who consolidated their power in the 12th century.” Their capital was at Amber (which is pronounced ahm-AIR…not AM-burr) about 10 kilometers northeast of town. This is northern India’s first planned city, if LP is being honest with me.
All I hope you get out of that is that this is an area with close to a millennium of “important” history to India, but the city of Jaipur as we see it now is only about 300-400 years old. Jaipur currently has a population of about three million. There’s an Old City (Pink City) which is where most of the tourists head – including yours truly – a new city, and….that’s about it. For my purposes (and in an attempt at brevity), I’ll say we went to the Central Museum (Albert Hall) south of the Old City. We also visited Hawa Mahal, Tripolia Bazaar (and Gate), and Jantar Mantar in the Old City. Other than that, we went to Amber Fort for a few hours.
Things started innocuously enough. We had left Delhi at 7:30 in the morning and gotten to Jaipur about 5 hours later. We had one stop on the bus for breakfast. I don’t recall what I ate…some type of curry, of course, but I don’t recall which. It may have just been mutter paneer. It was, however, delicious, and I didn’t feel hungry at all again until dinner.
The bus. Bus transportation in India, by the way, is rather interesting. Sometimes they are private buses (the small kind that only hold 8-12 people), sometimes sleeper buses, sometimes regular coaches…but the regular coaches didn’t seem too common. There doesn’t seem to be any uniformity in India about this.
Anyway, the bus dropped us off right next to Amber Fort. Since this was one of the small 8-12 person jobs, it could pretty much stop and go where it pleased, it seems, and this one didn’t actually take us to Jaipur.
As soon as we got off the bus here, we hired a tuk tuk (san lun che, for you Chinese readers) that took us down to the Old City. There, we switched to another one that took us the 2-3 kilometers west of the Old City to the more quiet and residential Bani Park where our hotel (the Hotel Anuraag Villa, which turned out to be about the nicest one we stayed in) was located. The second tuk tuk driver is the one we hired to take us around that afternoon and the next day. For the first day, I paid 500 rupees (~50 RMB/$8) for 4-6 hours’ work. We checked in and he waited patiently as we ate lunch in the backyard of the hotel.
Our driver took us first to the Central Museum (Albert Hall) where we spent an hour or two in mid-afternoon. The museum itself isn’t too bad. It has standard fare: tribal dress, Buddhist sculptures, even an Egyptian mummy. The building itself, though, is worth seeing. Anyway, an hour here was more than enough time.
From there, we went to the Sun Temple (I think that’s what it’s called) where I enjoyed the late afternoon sun (and rather smoggy view, though not quite as smoggy as Chinese cities I’m accustomed to). After that, we ended up going to a rather nice restaurant that cost about 2500 rupees (250 RMB/$40) for two. I splurged. It was fantastic.
After a night of sleep that may or may not have transported me to an alternate universe (I sleep more deeply than most bears), I woke up ready to go the next morning. I hired the same tuk tuk driver to haul us around, and we went first to the Old City (Hawa Mahal, the Tripolia Bazaar, Jantar Mantar, and Amber Fort…plus another fort in the middle of the water whose name I’ve forgotten). Though the time was a little shorter than the previous day, I paid him 750 rupee, since he actually drove us around farther. That’s still just under $15, so I had no problem with that.
Hawa Mahal (Palace of the Winds) is the most recognizable architectural building in the Pink City (though it’s technically just outside the Old City). It’s a five story building that was built by Sawai Pratap Singh in 1799 to “enable ladies of the royal household to watch the life and processions of the city.” There are nice views of Jantar Mantar and the City Palace to the west and the Siredoori Bazaar directly across the street.
Jantar Mantar is an observatory that was built by Jai Singh in 1728. “Jantar mantar” is derived from the Sanskrit “yanta mantr,” which means “instrument of calculation.” There are some rather large, interesting, and certainly eclectic sculptures, all for measuring time among the heavens.
Amber Fort was the highlight of Jaipur for me. The Kachhawaha Rajputs ruled from here for over 800 years. This fort was built beginning in 1592 by Maharaja Man Singh using war booty. It’s a royal palace built from pale yellow and pink sandstone with various courtyards. If you walk up the hill, you will enter the fort through the Suraj Pol (Sun Gate) and find yourself in Jaleb Chowk (Main Square) where the armies presented to the king. Walking up the stairs from Jaleb Chowk will bring you to the second courtyard and Diwan-I-Am (Hall of Public Audience) with its double row of columns. The maharaja’s apartments are located around the third courtyard, which you enter through Ganesh Pol. On one side of the interior courtyard is the Jai Mandir (Hall of Victory) which has many mirrored tiles. On the opposite side of Jai Mandir, across Maota Lake (a very small decorative pond, really) is Sukh Niwas (Hall of Pleasure). The fourth courtyard has the zenana (women’s quarters), which were designed so the maharaja could make his nightly visits without the other women knowing about it. In all, the fort/palace and the views from the fort are wonderful. I won’t say “breathtaking” or “stunning,” but certainly worth the visit.
Once I bade farewell to the tuk tuk driver, we wandered around the Old City a little longer before heading over to the hotel for dinner and to see a puppet show (that was not free, but wasn’t advertised as costing anything; they basically try to shame you into “donating” when they’re done). After that, we headed to the train station for a midnight ride across the state on Indian Railways…the first of five train rides throughout these two weeks.
If anyone has seen Slumdog Millionaire, you saw Indian Railways in action…with people riding ON the cars, among other things. I didn’t see anything quite like that, but…the lowest class passenger cars were quite crowded. We were always in first- or second-class sleepers which, to me, didn’t differ too much from the style of sleeper cars in China, though they weren’t quite as nice. They were…very close to the same, at least from my experience.
So, goodbye Pink City and hello Golden City. Jaisalmer was a twelve hour ride due west from Jaipur, and we arrived sometime mid-morning. More to come…
Put on your red dress baby,
'Cause we're going out tonight.
Put on your red dress baby,
'Cause we're going out tonight.
You better wear some boxing gloves
In case a fool might wanna fight.
Inspired by the work of Ron Diorio (av_producer).